Mikelly

Yes you did... And you're the new HIGH donor! Thanks Mark!!! Mike

They were easier to install and have less parts to come loose. I'm not a huge fan of those "bolt-in" plates. Do they both do the job? Sure. But the welded plates are a better solution in my mind. Rules may not allow them in ITS, but I'm building a track biatch, not an ITS car. Mike

They're TSW Thrusters in 18X9.5 w/22mm offset. The lip is 3 7/8th and it's a 5X4.5 pattern. The wheels weigh approximately 22#s although they felt a tad heavier. I bought these as the Street/rain wheels. They're $199 each and look pretty nice. In the pics I've got a 5/8th spacer front and rear behind each wheel. Here are some pics:

I've heard good things about their new strut/coil over setup... By the time you spend $640 on some Koni Yellow 8610s, and $420 on a set of coil over tubes and coilsprings, you're most of the way there. Had I now already had GC coil overs on my car, I'd have done this route. And I can REALLY recommend the camber plates sold by Dave! WAY better install and function that the GC units I have on the front. Mike

I decided not to go with them and instead bought a set of TSW Thrusters in 18X9.5 for $199 each. Should be in this week. Mike

As I said in the earlier posts... Lets let BJ jt1 and the guys finalize their plan. My guess is that we'll have our hands full just testing the spoilers in different configurations. Mike

I know a lot of folks would think that this comment goes without saying, and I've been fabricating and tinkering with metal cutting devices for over 20 years So you think I would REALLY KNOW... The other day I had in my hand while waiting in line, the WRONG blades for my chopsaw... Always make sure the blade is rated for the machine... Good advice Darrel. Mike

The real question you should be asking yourself is how much traction, braking and handling you're gonna need with 400WHP. You might be surprised to know that you won't have nearly the grip required with an 8 inch wheel. I'd shoot for at minimum a 9 inch wheel with 255-40-17s in a great/ sticky/ wet weather compatible rating. It doesn't matter if it's a race car or street car. When you enter that level of performance, it's a whole 'nuther game. Mike

You don't throw them away. You cut them down to the size needed. Are you saying you don't have enough space with the suspension compressed to its ride height? The suspension has to be compressed... Remember that the rear axles are hanging down significantly and you'll have to jack those into place by putting a jack under the strut assembly and raising them into place. Another question... Are you sure you have the correct sway bar to mount from the reverse position? Mike

Couple of other things to check... Did you check the check valve in the line from the intake to the booster? Is it installed properly? The comments about the reaction disc in the booster would be spot on IF the problem existed before the swap. The original poster didn't comment that it did, and that's why I didn't bring it up... Also check the hoses to the booster from the manifold for cracks. As the cars warms up you could be experiencing the hoses opening or "yawning"... Who knows, but I'd check everything else AND install a cheap brake bias adjuster. Mike

Mike, with the number of really bad posts that you've contributed lately (Since November) I'd think you'd lay low and fly under the radar more... But it's apparent to me that you're incapable of being content reading more and posting less... Mikelly

You need to get rid of the factory bias valve and just use a $50 wilwood unit under the hood where the factory unit is. Adjust as needed. I ran the same brake setup you're using without problems, although I did switch to 280ZX rears with the front Toyota calipers...The bias is the issue. Mike

There are some really ignorant Zcar ads on Ebay right now. The Silver 260 from Neportnews/Suffolk area that does "160mph" easy, and the Yellow 76 from North Carolina with the major rust in the rear hatch area that is described as "near concors" with little effort are just two... Mike

Mine initially cost me $1000. I sold much of the project parts with it and actually made money in the end on buying it... Think I came out about $600 ahead. five years later, I think I've got about $18,000 in it. Mike

jt1, I've got an excellent candidate crappy hood that is straight and can be drilled with as many holes as needed. I know the pressure area issue was discussed, but wasn't sure if anyone has offered up a hood just yet... So I've got one of those we can use as well... Mike

Some suggestions for over the counter (AKA Junkyard) seats: CRX Seats (Get the units without the seatbelt built in) RX7 1st-3rd gens Conguest TSI seats Camaro seats Eclipse seats Nissan 240SX seats Toyota MR2 seats Now what I used are these: http://www.ogracing.com/eshop/itemdetail.asp?ses=32283i5tmclr2jrd95&itemid=923&showbrake=1 They are ultra light weight, can be mounted to the Nissan seat slider with some effort, and fit very well if you have a vice to bend the "wings" inward a tad so they don't hit the door... Mike

I have that bar and will be playing with it and the mounts, but after some discussion with Ross, I realized what the problem is... You have to cut the end links so that they work within the space. The steel spacer between the two in-board bushings on the endlink is what needs to be cut down... Bolt the bar onto the Mustach bar mounts, and then set it to where it clears the axle and masure the space left. That's all you have to work with. If I get around to that this week, I'll take pictures, but don't hold your breath... I'm still doing some welding and fabricating on the car. Mike

Congrats Bill! Now the FUN begins! Mike

Fear not. This issue has already been captured along with the other standard areas that have been noted as trouble problems for decades, and based on the limited info that was made available from testing back in the 70s. And I'm with you... I plan to carve on one of my hoods soon to get the right effect... would be nice to know the best locations before I commit. Mike

Actually, That's why I commented to BJ that we should do as many "off the internet stores" parts as we can. MSA and VB (Now Dragon) are the two main sources for parts. John Washington's parts, although a huge step up in quality, aren't as readily available and easily shipped, Although I think we may have a few of his parts on hand as well... We're trying to cover what works for as many applications (street & track) as possible. Mike

Nascar folks use those tubes on tie rods, so they don't see an over-abundance of stress, which is OK I guess (although I'd still not use them). We bent a pair at the MSA Show back in 2001 just autocrossing, and only in one day's use. So I'd absolutely not use them for either TC rods or control arms. I'd buy the steel units or cromoly units if you can find them, but I'd no way use them on a street or track car. The upside is they look great, which was why we had them on our demo parts we were showing at MSA that year. It was our first year at the show and we learned a lot of what worked, what didn't, and who the competition was or in this case at the time, wasn't! http://www.colemanracing.com had the solid steel units. The swagged units aren't strong enough in my opinion, so stick with the solid steel units and order them in the lengths you need, and since you're so far away, I'd order double everything to have spair sets. They were about $10.00 each USC. Mike

I'm gonna ask to come see it in person, since I will be in Alexandria later this week... Mike

Nobody is expecting any kind of financial reembursement here, Mike. I'm just illustrating that we're donating our time and trying to make this happen in the most realistic manor possible. Mikelly

Let me clarify something here for everyone... I'm collecting funds for this effort and helping organize it from affar. I'll be in attendance for the day of the testing, and I've been in contact with John (BJ Hines) and with Ken Jones (Who'll be writting the article). I've weighed in on what I think should be tested from the "average guy" parts availability standpoint, and I'm also weighing in from a guy who goes to the road courses stand point. 99% of those who are on this board will never get their cars up to 150MPH on a roadcourse. Most folks are still going to make a purchase based on how a part "looks" on their car. But atleast they'll know that it's costing them HP and fuel mileage. Again, the goal is to find out what works and what doesn't, giving all of you the info to properly decide on what to purchase for each your needs That said, the above comments were my "opinions" on what this test should focus on. BJ and the guys from North Carolina are conducting the test and taking my opinion, and those of everyone else here and trying to make it all fit into a "day." They're also listening to the pros who run that tunnel. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT as we've never done this before and the folks who own the tunnel run these tests daily. If they say that we're waisting time in testing a certain part, I'd heed the warning. Time is money and we want to maxemize that time and get the most effective use of it. Many of you have no idea what it is you're asking of these guys. Testing multiple cars in multiple configurations is going to be very time consuming. We're trying to come up with the best solution to cover as many bases as possible. IF we get enough funding to cover two days worth of testing, then great. We'll do it. But lining up the cars and their owners, only to have to turn them down at the last minute isn't something I'd like to be a part of. If we get enough donations, I'm game for getting as much testing done as can be done. However, I'm guessing that conducting this testing will be done during a week day. I'm losing on average $1000 per each day I'm not at work. A second day for me would be a costly proposition. I can swing it, but I'm not sure of other folks budgets, schedules, or time availability. Couple that with the fact that it took us so long to get a single date, and I bet we won't get a second consecutive date to stay there and conduct more testing. Mike, I understand that you have a single purpose goal to get data for your kit car. My recommendation is that if that's the sole goal, then maybe you might want to hang on to your donation. I'm not realistically seeing doing the level of testing on all the conventional parts AND doing a bunch of various rebody kits. Maybe I'm speaking out of turn and BJ can set me straight on this one, But unless we get a chunk of change in donations, I don't see a second date, and certainly a second consecutive day is a more unlikely scenario. I do plan to do another day of testing on my car once the Gnose is installed and the car is done and track-ready. I'll publish that data here sometime over the coming year as I suspect it'll be mid to late summer before I can get on the schedule, and possibly later into the year. That'll be on my dime and It'll be a private session for me to try and get the best setup for the car. My intention of posting these comments isn't to put a damper on this testing. I'm 110% behind this effort. Afterall, I started this fund drive to insure this testing is pulled off. But I want to be realistic here in making sure the goals are met. It will take a fair amount of time to swap out a single spoiler or airdam. We've got a NUMBER of these to test alone, and in multiple configurations. We're going to insure we can be the most efficient in the time we have. Beyond that, I'm personally making no promises. Let's keep focused and get those donations in... Mike

Total donations to date gang are $2604.38 I just tallied up all of the donations, and I'm still sitting on the two checks sent by members, but will deposit them along with those anticipated to be sent beginning of the month... I'll do those deposits and transfer them into the account on or about January 15th. I'll cover ALL of the PAYPAL fees that we've lost due to using their service. To date I've transfered $1600 into BJ's account. BJ has secured the date for the test. That leaves $1004.38 left to pay the WindTunnel folks. So, Since we've got another 2 months to get more funds together, Please remember this activity the next time you log into your paypal accounts... I've had donations as small as $2.76 and as large as $400 (You know who you are!) so no donation is too small or too big! Thanks gang for helping make this a reality! Mike